Table construction



7 July 1, 1947. w. H. MCDONALD TABLE CONSTRUCTION Filed April 6, 1944 WILLIFZ? H- rlc DormLv i fliiorwy Patented July 1, 1947 W T TABLE CONSTRUCTION William H. McDonald, Bloomington, Ind., assignor to The Nurre Companies, Inc., Bloomington, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application April 6, 1944, Serial No. 529,701

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of articles of furniture, more particularly tables and the like having decorative glass tops.

I-leretofore and prior to the present invention it has been the general and. commonly accepted practice for the manufacturer of glass top tables and the like to construct them in the form of complete units, that is, with the top, legs and other parts completely assembled and secured together. The safe shipment of such glass top tables as complete units has often proved to be difficult and quit expensive, inasmuch as they required special packaging and handling to protect the glass tops against breakage. Also, because of the bulk of the table, whether protectively boxed or not, considerable, shipping space was required for even a moderate number of tables to be shipped. Further, the storage of these completely assembled tables in the stores in which they are displayed and ultimately soldto the'consumer has always been a problem because of the considerable floor sp ace'required for storing the and also because special'precautions were required to hetaken to prevent possible breakage of the glass tops. And finally, if perchance the glass top of such table became broken, it became a rather difficult matter to replace the same, usually involving the relatively expensive necessity of returning the whole table to the manufacturer for replacement of the broken top.

It among the objects of the present invention to overcome the above and other difiiculties and o jections by the provision of a knock-down construction of table, the several parts of which are so designed and inter-related that they may be readily assembled, as and when desired, to form a complete table unit which is as strong and durable in construction as though it were originally constructed by the manufacturer as a permanently assembled, unitary structure.

A further object is to provide a knock-down construction of table wherein the several unitary parts thereof not only lend themselves readily to compact packaging for shipment and storage purposes, but also are adapted to be easily and quickly assembled into the form of a complete table unit without the useof any special tools or the employment of any special skill.

A still further and important object of the present invention is to provide a construction of table top unit which lends itself admirably to the or disfigurement of the exposed upper surface of the glass.

Still another object of the present invention is ,to provide a supporting frame for the glass top of a table which is adapted to receive table legs of standardized shape and size and which is so permanently secured to the glass top member as to provide for a unitary assembly of glass top and supporting frame which may be easily and safely handled, not only during storage and shipment thereof, but also while assembling the legs therewith, the glass top being provided with a mirrored section which overlies and conceals from top view the supporting frame, the arrangement being generally such that through the use of standardized legs and different designs and shapes of table top units, a wide diversity in design of glass top tables may be readily and conveniently obtained.

Other objects and advantageswill appear more fully hereinafter, it being understood that the present invention consists in the combination,

construction, location and relative arrangement of parts, all. as described in detail in the following specification. as shown in the accompanying drawings and as finally pointed out in the ap pended claims.

In the said accompanying drawings, which illustrate certain preferred embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 1 is a perspective View showing a table as constructed and assembled in accordance with the general principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the table top assembly;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the table top assembly;

Figure 4 is an elevational view of a standardized construction of. table leg;

Figure5 is a sectional view of a portion of the assembled table taken on the'line 5--5 of Figure 1; a

Figure 6 is a transverse sectional view of the table top assembly taken on the line 66 of Figure 2; and

Figure 7 is a transverse sectional view of a somewhat modified construction of table top assembly.

Referring now to the drawings and more par ticularly to Figures 2, 3 and 6 thereof, it will be observed that the table as constructed in accord" ance with the present invention includes a table top unit II] which comprises essentially a support ing frame H to the upper surface of which is adapted to be permanently secured in any suitable manner a glass top member l2. The sup porting frame II is preferably constructed of wood and may be of any shape desired, its chief characteristics being that it is provided with a central opening l3 of substantial area and that the frame-forming members which marginally surround and so define said opening are disposed in a common plane to provide the frame with a substantially flat upper surface. In the particular illustration shown, the frame I I. is of substantially square outline, this shape being in correspondence with the shape of the glass top member I2 which it is designed to support. It will be understood, however, that the shape or outline of the supporting frame may. be varied as. desired, depending upon the shape of the; glass top which is to be employed in the design of a P rticular table unit, and consequently, the frame may be of rectangular, circular, oval or any othershape without departing from the general principles and teachings of the present invention,

The glass top I2 which isassociated with its supporting frame I l is secured thereto preferably by the use of a suitable adhesive mastic which is applied as a coating to the upper flat surface of the frame and serves-to adhesively secure the glass top thereto. when the latter is pressed flat-- wise. against the mastic-coated surface of the frame.

Prior to securing the glass top to the frame, it treated in accordance. with conventional mirroring practice to provide it with a silvered or other such reflecting area, I4 which extends marginally about the glass panel to thereby provide the latter with a clear or transparent central area I5. The mirrored. orrefiecting area I4. of the glass top is of a, shape and size. exactly comparable to that of the underlying Supporting frame II, and inasmuch as this silvered, area, I4, isopaque, it will be apparent that when the, glass top member I2 is secu-redtoits supporting frame I I with the opaque area I4, in proper registry with the marginal members of the frame, the latter is completely concealed from the, view of an observer looking at the. outer or upper surface of the glass top. Inasmuch as the glassmember I2 may be treated with various metals or metallic compounds other than. silver to provide. the same with a suitable reflecting surface, as. for example, gold, copper, lead or the like, it is to be understood that the terms silvered area or silvered surfaces wherever, the samemay be employed in this spec ification or-in theappended claims is intended to comprehend any type of; reflecting medium applied to the surface of theglass.

The adhesive mastic which is employed to secure the glass top I2 to its supporting frame It, in view of, the fact. that it. is. necessarily applied for direct contact with the silvered area of the glass, must be of. a character that is harmless to the coating of silver or other such reflecting material, and to that end it is preferred to use for thepurpose a mastic material known in the trade as Tempotite, manufactuned and sold by the Tempotite Plastic Company of New York, New York.

By so adhesively securing the-glass top. IE to the frame II there is obtained a laminated-min t-ary construction. of; table top which is adapted to be easily and safely handlednot. only for: stor-. ageand shipment, but. also for assembly therewithof the table supporting legs I6, one of, which is shown in, elevation in. Figure 4,. which may be of any suitable design and configuration, are, nevertheless, of standardized con.- structionin that they are all uniformly proyided at eir upper ds w th re uc am ter shank or dowelparts, I 1 ,to facilitate seculement, thereof to the table top. For this, purpose, each frame member II of the laminated glass top unit, I0. is

i ab y me ed; th. lu al of q kt I81 7 table top and the legs is desired, this may be vention with a shelf spaced vertically below the effected readily merely by the application of glue to the press-fitted parts.

In order to increase the ornamental aspect of the table top, the glass member I2 may be made of such shape and size as to provide it with an edge I9 which marginally overhangs the outer edge of the underlying supporting frame I I. This overhanging marginal edge I9 of the glass top may be transparent, as shown in the drawings, or it may be silvered or otherwis treated as desired to provide any suitable contrast with the mirrored area I4 of the glass top. Also, in lieu of rendering the central area of the glass top transa parent throughout as shown, it may be otherwise treated, asby providing it with an etched design or rendering it semi-transparent or translucent, or it may be completely silvered, if desired.

The present construction of glass top assembly lends itself to still other decorative treatauxiliary panel 2I a part of the unitary table top ments, as shown, for example, inFigure 7, wherein the underlying supporting frame I l is rabbetted, as at 20; along its upper inside edge to provide a shouldered seat for accommodation of a second glass panel 2|. This second panel 2| is thus dis- -posed immediately beneath and in closely spaced relation to the central transparent area I5 of the main glass top I2. The glass panel 2| may be decorated in any suitable manner and with any suitable design which will show through the transparent central portion of the glass top I2, or the assembly.

In order to provide the table of the present intop thereof, the. several legs It may each be provided at a point intermediate the length thereof with a laterally extending dowel pin 22, which serves as a support or rest for a lower shelf 23. such as is shown in Figure 1. As most clearly appears in this figure, it will be noted that the several legs I6 for supporting the table top are relatively so arranged and secured to the latter that the shelf-supporting pins 22 thereof all extend inwardly toward the center of the table. The helf 23 is preferably. notched, as. at 24, in the several corners thereof, to clo'sely and pleasingly embracethe tablelegsat the points where said corner portions restuponthe supportin pins 22, the shelf 23 bein supportedloosely, upon these pins. Of course, during assembly of theshelftype table, as shown in Figure 1, the shelf, 23 is initially placed in position flatwise against the undersurface of thetable top, following which the legs are secured thereto while the top is in inverted position, Theassembled table is then carefully inverted to permit the shelf 2.3.to rest upon the pins 22 in spaced relation with respect to.

thetop, The shelf 23.,of course, may.be made of n u tab m t ria lth ,v t is p e e r that, it too be formed of glass which may be either transparent throughout or partially or wholly silvered to provide any desired design effect.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the table as constructed in accordance with the present invention, lends itself to easy and safe handling not only for purposes of storage and shipment, but also during assembly thereof, the glass top l2 being protected against breakage by the wood frame which is adhesively secured to the back or undersurface thereof. Also considerable economies are effected in the shipment of the present construction of table by virtue of the fact that the table top units may be compactly packaged and shipped independently of the legs. Further, by the use of standardized legs a variety of designs of tables may be easily obtained by the simple expedient of providing different designs of table tops for use with these standardized legs. Where it is desired to provide tables without any lower shelf, such as the shelf 23 in Fig ure 1, standard legs are provided, but without any shelf-supporting pins.

It will be understood that the present invention is susceptible of various changes and modifications which may be made from time to time without departing from the general principles or real spirit thereof, and accordingly, it is intended to claim the invention broadly, as well as specifically, as indicated by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. In a knock-down table construction of the character described, a table top unitary assembly comprising a glass member having a silvered area extending marginally about a central transparent area and a supporting frame for said glass top, said frame being of a shape complemental to that of the glass top and having an upper flat surface coextensive in area with said silvered area of the glass top, and means for adhesively securing said flat surface of the frame to the silvered surface of the glass whereby said frame is concealed from the view of an observer looking at the upper surface of the table top assembly.

2. In a knock-down table construction of the character described, a table top unitary assembly comprising a glass member having a silvered area extending marginally about a central transparent area and a supporting frame for said glass top, said frame being of a shape complemental to that of the glass top and having an upper flat surface coextensive in area with said silvered area of the glass top, and means for adhesively securing said flat surface of the frame to the silvered surface of the glass whereby said frame is concealed from the view of an observer looking at the upper surface of the table top assembly, said supporting frame having a central opening which is substantially coextensive in area with the central transparent area of the glass member.

3. A table top assembly comprising a top glass panel and an underlying supporting frame for the panel, said frame being of open construction and having a flat upper surface for flatwise disposition marginally against said glass panel, and adhesive means for permanently securing said marginal portion of the glass panel to said frame, the said marginal portion of the glass panel being treated to render it reflective and to conceal from top view the underlying supporting frame, the central area of the said top glass panel being transparent in contrast with the opaque, reflective marginal portion thereof.

4. A table top assembly comprising a top glass panel and an underlying supporting frame for the panel, said frame being of open construction and having a fiat upper surface for flatwise disposition marginally against said glass panel, and adhesive means for permanently securing said marginal portion of the glass panel to said frame, the said marginal portion of the glass panel being treated to render it reflective and to conceal from top view the underlying supporting frame, the central area of the said top glass panel being transparent in contrast with the opaque, reflective marginal portion thereof, said underlying frame being rabbetted along the upper inside edge thereof to receive a second glass panel in closely associated relation to said top glass panel.

5. A table top assembly comprising a top glass panel and an underlying supporting frame for the panel, said frame being of open construction and having a flat upper surface for flatwise disposition marginally against said glass panel, and adhesive means for permanently securing said marginal portion of the glass panel to said frame, the said marginal portion of the glass panel being treated to render it reflective and to conceal from top view the underlying supporting frame, the central area of the said top glass panel being transparent in contrast with the opaque, reflective marginal portion thereof, and a second glass panel supported by said underlying frame in close relation to said top glass panel.

6. A table top assembly comprising a top glass panel and an underlying supporting frame for the panel, said frame being of open construction and having a flat upper surface for flatwise disposition marginally against said glass panel, and adhesive means for permanently securing said marginal portion of the glass panel to said frame, the said marginal portion of the glass panel being treated to render it reflective and to conceal from top view the underlying supporting frame, the central area of the said top glass panel being transparent in contrast with the opaque, reflective marginal portion thereof, and a second glass panel supported by said underlying frame in close relation to said top glass panel, said second glass panel being coextensive in size and shape with the central transparent area of the top glass panel.

WILLIAM H. McDONALD.

REFERENCES CITED 'The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 245,540 Moneyment Aug. 9, 1881 899,267 Sheehan Sept. 22, 1908 1,573,560 Mann Feb. 16, 1926 1,875,864 Gibian Sept. 6, 1932 906,931 Rattay Dec. 15, 1908 1,549,146 Miner Aug. 11, 1925 1,950,540 Calhoun Mar. 13, 1934 2,276,108 Skolnik Mar. 10, 1942 1,761,863 Bassist June 3, 1930 1,887,288 Clausen Nov. 8, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 365,852 Great Britain Jan. 28, 1932 

